Paper Mario : The Dance of Seasons
by CrashingThunder
Summary: Far from the Mushroom Kingdom, the gateway between two worlds is broken and the fate of the world is in peril. A Paper Mario inspired story packed with adventure at a grand and epic scale. Paper Mario fans will be sure to enjoy this story! "This is really doing justice to what Paper Mario would look like." "This could be as excellent as the Temple of the Sun."
1. Introduction

_Introduction_

_Ahem!_

_Allow me to tell you the story of the seasons._

_For as long as anyone can remember, the seasons have come and past in an endless cycle._

_From winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall and fall to winter they ebb and flow forever._

_And, in a world different from our own, there exist two lovers._

_This world is a perfect world with everything living in perfect harmony._

_The inhabitants of this world all possess great power, but their love is so great and vast that it creates a special connection between our world and theirs._

_The seasons are this connection._

_Like a lover's dance the seasons glide by, each allowing the other to take the lead._

_Held together by the bonds of their love, our world is intricately connected to theirs._

_Without them, the seasons would end and our world would be sent into chaos._

_An endless winter would befall it. There would be no warmth, no heat, and no love._

_Nothing would survive the bitter cold._

_This is why the only way to reach their world has been long since sealed away._

_The location of the gate between our world and theirs is kept in utmost secrecy._

_Nobody even knows where it is, or how to open it if they had even found it._

_Perhaps, in the end, not knowing is best._

PAPER MARIO : THE DANCE OF SEASONS

The moist and heavy summer breeze blew into the window of Mario's house. It was one of the hottest summers the Mushroom Kingdom had ever had. AC units had been out of stock at the Toad Town market for several weeks, but other than that, everything was good with the kingdom. The princess was safe; Bowser was nowhere to be seen, although his absence was suspicious of course. It was a year after Mario had been dragged along on a treasure hunt to Rougeport that ended up being a mission to save peach from being possessed by an ancient demon. As per usual, any sort of vacation always turned out to be another mission to save the world. Mario shrugged it off, though. As much as a hassle the princess was, he didn't have much else to do with his time anyways. He sighed at the memory, not sure if it was a sigh of contentment or remorse. Just then, a voice called from out on the porch.

"MAIL CALL!" yelled Parakarry. He shoved the letter in the mailbox and flew off to the next house.

"I've got it," said Luigi. For some reason, it was always Luigi's job to get the mail. He wondered why, but then lost interest after coming back inside with a letter.

"It's from Princess Peach! I'll read it to you, bro...Ahem..."

_Dear, Mario_

_ You are cordially invited you to come along with Toadsworth and I for a vacation! I recently found out about a great place far, far away from here, and it has sunny beaches, snowy mountaintops, dewy meadows and treehouses in a giant forest! Interestingly enough, it seems as though this region has all four seasons right near each other, is that not intriguing? I'd be delighted if you would come along – and between you and me, I'd rather it not just be me and Toadsworth! We're leaving today at noon by hot air balloon, so pack quickly!_

_P.S. Luigi can come along too!_

_ Sincerely,_

_ Princess Peach_

"You didn't have to read it in her voice, bro. Kind of creepy."

"Sorry, bro. But anyways, what do you think?"

"What do you think I think? Let's-a-go!"

"It's 11:50," said Luigi. "Shouldn't we pack?"

"Eh, no need," said Mario. "We wear the same thing all the time anyways."

The bros left the house in a heartbeat and headed over to the castle, walking briskly. The princess always made rather spur of the moment decisions like this one, leaving little time to prepare. At 11:59, they arrived at the castle.

"Oh good, good, you're finally here!" exclaimed Toadsworth. "Quickly now, we mustn't keep the princess waiting. The hot air balloon is ready to go, out in the courtyard."

He ushered them hastily through the castle and out into the courtyard where Princess Peach was waiting in the hot air balloon. Her small, delicate body standing in the giant, overwhelming hot air balloon was quite the funny sight. Toadsworth, Mario and Luigi stepped into the basket.

"Ready?" said Peach.

"Now, now princess, let's go through the safety checklist before taking off—"

"Let's go!" she exclaimed, and cut the cord tethering the balloon to the ground. Quickly, they rose upward into the bright blue sky. In mere minutes, they were high above the castle, floating lazily through the clouds. Toadsworth was having a minor panic attack, checking everything to make sure it was correct. Peach seemed to ignore it.

"Alright. Now that we've gotten situated, let us get a heading in the proper direction," said Peach. She pulled out a compass and held it in her small, white gloves.

"We need to go west, and we should arrive in several hours," she said.

"The princess sure is quite the navigator, isn't she?" said Toadsworth. "I told her we could use the plane, but she insisted on getting there this way..." Mario and Luigi just nodded.

"Now that we're all set up, I can elaborate more on the details of our destination," said Peach. "It's called Tempora. It's a region way, way west from here that's divided up into four regions, one for each season. There's Verion for spring, Aestasi for summer, Autumnus for autumn and Hiembri for winter."

All of their expressions were blank.

"Those are quite...uh...interesting names Peach," said Mario.

"The people there are quite different, at least that what it said about them in my research. They're sophisticated...modest! And polite and mannerly too. _They_ know the meaning of being fancy!" said Peach.

"So in other words – boring," said Luigi. She eyed him wearily. "Uhh, I mean, boring to people who don't have respect for such things!"

Mario whispered to Luigi. "_Nice save, bro!_"

"Anyways...as I was saying, there are four regions that represent all the seasons. Right in the middle, there's a fantastic town where they have huge festivals, and parades and there's just so much to learn about their culture! I propose that we start in Tempora Town and visit each region for a couple of days, one by one. There's bound to be a ton of interesting sights to see and things to do."

"It should only be about twelve hours until we arrive!" said Princess Peach, with much enthusiasm in her voice.

"Ohhh, yes princess. The hot air balloon idea was so much better than taking the airplane. We can enjoy the same beautiful sights, but for ten times longer..." said Toadsworth.

After several long hours later, they were finally approaching Tempora. Peach's descriptions didn't do much justice to the grandness of the landscapes they were flying over. It really was split up into four quite distinct regions, but the immensity of each of them was completely staggering. Way off in the distance they could see a steep, snowy mountaintop that peeked up through the clouds. At its base was a bright green forest and towards the east, where they were flying over currently, there was a big grassy plain and a moon-shaped cove along the shoreline. Up towards the north there was an autumn forest. Peculiarly, the trees were yellow, red and orange. But from their height, it all seemed to just be one blob of color. In the center of all the regions was the town. It sprawled out in all directions, taking up a corner of each region.

"Isn't it all so beautiful?" said Peach.

"It's _so majestic!_" said Toadsworth.

"It's-a pretty nice view!" said Luigi.

They brought the hot air balloon down and descended into the Tempora Town. The architecture of the buildings was astounding. The scale of everything dwarfed Toad Town in comparison. Huge columns held up giant roofs, and intricate carved archways loomed over the wide streets of the town. The streets were made from cobblestone, with patterns representing the seasons laid out in them. In the very center of the town there was a big, open area with markets and lots of people of all different varieties talking and walking together. It was a very lively place.

"I...suppose we can just land here. Did anyone see a helipad or something?" said Princess Peach. Toadsworth just continued to look anxious.

"Guess not. We're landing!"

The balloon floated gently down into the center of the town square. The people seemed slightly amused, but after a few moments went quickly back to whatever it was that they were doing. With a soft thud, they had finally arrived at Tempora Town.

_ "Amori...Amori! You must wake up, Amori! Something terrible has happened!"_

_ "...Vallus? What is it? What's wrong?"_

_ "There isn't any time to linger, we must leave now! Come with me before we lose each other."_

_ "Lose each other? Vallus, please tell me what is going on...I'm frightened. What's happening?"_

_ "Please, Amori. With all the love in my heart, I tell you that we must go! Quickly now, give me your hand and let's head out the door before it's too late. There isn't much time left before it happens!"_

_ "Before what happens?"_

_ "The gate...the...oh there isn't time! Amori, please! We need to leave!"_

_ "...okay Vallus...I trust you. You know I do."_

_ "Thank you, my love. I promise I'll explain soon. I love you, Amori."_

_ "I love y—"_


	2. Prologue Part 1 :: Time in Tempora Town

_Prologue Part One :: Time in Tempora Town_

"Alright, first things first," said Toadsworth. "Let's check in to a hotel and get settled and then—"

"I'll be right back. There's a market stall over there selling jewelry!" exclaimed Princess Peach. She scampered off hastily towards it, leaving Toadsworth, Mario and Luigi behind.

"Wait, now Princess! Waaaiittt!" yelled Toadsworth, running hastily after her.

"Well, this is pretty normal I'd say," said Mario. "I see a cafe over there, bro. Let's go grab some grub."

"Okey-dokey," said Luigi. They made their way over to the cafe, but were stopped suddenly in their tracks by a short, goomba girl with shiny brown hair.

"Excuse me," said the goomba. "I'm conducting a survey of the inhabitants of this town for a research project. I go to the University of Tempora, or UT for short. I'm an aspiring journalist. Could you two spare a couple minutes of your time to answer a handful of questions?" She smiled adorably, as if she was a trained master at it.

"Sure, why not?" said Mario.

"Awesome! Okay, first question. In what quadrant do you live?"

"Uhh, we're tourists, we don't live here," said Mario.

"...what do you mean, you don't live here?" the goomba responded.

"We just-a got here, in that hot air balloon over there," said Luigi, pointing to the hot air balloon parked obnoxiously in the middle of the town square. Several children were jumping and playing in and around it.

"You mean that hot air balloon came from outside of this town? We have hot air balloon tours of Tempora all the time you know," said the goomba.

"Yes, we traveled west for several hours to get here," said Mario.

"...that's impossible! Nobody ever visits this place, or even leaves for that matter. Are you sure you're not from around here?"

"Absolutely!"

"...hmm, well this is quite peculiar then." She rubbed her chin in thought, although it just looked like she was rubbing her face. Suddenly without warning she exclaimed, "This is fantastic! Finally, something interesting happens and I'm there to witness it firsthand!" Mario and Luigi just looked at each other in confusion. "You _have_ to come with me; I have a bunch of questions to ask you. I'm going to get _such_ a good grade on this project!"

"We have lots of things to do, uhh...what's your name?" said Mario.

"My name is Jennifer," said Jennifer.

"...really? Most goomba's names start with 'goom'," said Luigi.

"People always say that. You know, there aren't that many nice sounding girl names that start that way."

"Good point. I'm Mario and that's my brother Luigi" said Mario.

"Nice to meet you. Anyways, I won't take too much of your time, maybe twenty minutes or so. The University is just a couple of blocks down. You'll be in and out in no time!" She smiled adorably again, exactly as before.

"Okay," said Mario. "We'd be happy to help you out." Jennifer led them out through the bustling square and into a narrower side street. Things were starting to calm down a bit as they walked down the cobblestone road.

"So, why don't any people leave this place?" asked Mario. Jennifer seemed puzzled by the question, as if it were nonsensical to ask it.

"There is nowhere else. This is the world." She seemed completely serious.

"But if you just go further than Tempora, surely you'd—"

"That's just the thing" responded Jennifer. "Nobody leaves here. It's not like anybody wants to though – it's perfect! That makes sense to me, but nobody has ever _come_ here." She looked at Mario and Luigi quizzically. "Surely where you come from there is a giant force field that prevents things from getting inside?"

"What?" said Mario. "Absolutely not! Wha—a _force field_? We didn't-a see any force field!"

"Oh this is getting more interesting by the second!" said Jennifer. She jotted some notes down in a notebook. "We can talk more later. First, let me give you a tour of the University!"

Luigi put up his finger in protest. "But, we want to know about—"

"Right in front of us is the grand entrance to the University of Tempora, home of the Charging Chucks football team, the Go-Go Goombas, and the Bob-Omb Band. You should listen to their rendition of 1812 Overture – it's fantastic! For over a _hundred_ years, UT has been the proud symbol of the advancement of knowledge in Tempora, and..." Jennifer kept talking as they made their way up the steps and into the entrance of the University.

"To your left, we have the chemistry department. We have a few students working on some new power-ups. You're familiar with power-ups, aren't you Mario?"

"Me, power-ups? I'm the master of power-ups," said Mario.

"Oh, do you know about the Lightning Flower?" asked Jennifer.

"_Lightning Flower_?" said both Mario and Luigi simultaneously.

"Yes, Lightning Flower. A few semesters ago, a couple of students genetically altered a fire flower to produce lightning. It's pretty exciting stuff. It's a shame it causes severe dizziness and a slim chance of slipping into a coma after a minute or so of use." Their mouths were agape.

"So anyways, let's continue onwards to the biology department. You'll love what they've done with Piranha Plants..."

Mario interrupted her. "Jennifer...what exactly are we doing? You said you just needed us to answer some questions, but we need some answers, specifically that force field...thing."

"Okay, okay. I got a little carried away. I have a little office down the hall." They walked down and entered her office. The walls were covered with all sorts of different papers and documents, all pinned in different arrangements.

"Please excuse the mess. I'm a bit of a slob when it comes to my work." She sat down in her chair, facing Mario and Luigi. "Okay, so what about the force field would you like to know?"

"Why didn't we see it?" asked Mario.

"Your guess is as good as mine. It's been there for pretty much forever. If you want some historical facts, I can tell you that people used to make a big deal of it a long, long time ago."

"How long?" asked Mario.

"About 10,000 years or so" said Jennifer. "It appeared out of nowhere one day. Nobody could come in, and nobody could get out. The people were different back then, too. They fought hard to break the barrier. For many years they tried and failed, but it was no use. Nothing they could do would break it. Of course, sporadic attempts were made in the following years – more so at the start, but the attempts gradually grew further and further apart until nobody tried anymore. I guess they just realized that the barrier wasn't all that bad. We have all we need here in Tempora and the people are flourishing. The barrier keeps the bad things out, and the good things in."

"Then how did we get in?" said Mario.

"As I said before, your guess is just as good as mine. Where did you say you were from?"

"The Mushroom Kingdom," said Luigi, rather quickly. He felt the need to be a part of the conversation.

"Interesting..." she responded, writing more down in her notebook.

"What did the people do before the barrier appeared?" said Mario.

"Nobody really knows. It's mostly just speculation. It's simply been too long, and we don't have enough historical evidence to make any concrete conclusions."

"Wait..." said Luigi. "How did the princess know about this place, then?"

"...I don't know," said Mario. "Come on, let's-a-go get her and bring her back."

"Okay, that's fine" said Jennifer. "I should compile my notes a little and—" Mario and Luigi had already left to go find Peach and Toadsworth.

"I'm telling you, princess, this deal is a scam!" said Toadsworth. "That bracelet will probably break within the hour. They're made to fail, I tell you. They break and then you have to go buy another, and another, and—"

"I'll take five, please" said Peach. The street vendor handed over five of them and Peach gave him the money. "There, now I'll have enough to last at least five hours." Toadsworth fumed. Just then, Mario and Luigi came up to them.

"Princess Peach, Toadsworth, come with us! We need you to talk to someone" said Luigi.

"A local? Oh, I'd love to!" said Peach. Mario and Luigi brought them back to the university and into Jennifer's office. She still sat behind her desk, scribbling intently into her notepad. She looked up.

"Oh, you're back! I presume this is the princess of peaches you were talking about earlier."

"Yes, that's me," said Peach in a modest, quiet manner. She seemed used to the common mistake of her title and didn't correct it.

"How did you find out about this place?" asked Mario.

"When I was doing some tidying up around the castle, I came across some old papers and I was going through them when I found a map. Normally it wouldn't have stood out to me, but I noticed that there was a part of the world that hadn't been explored yet. Well, it had been, but there wasn't anything there. The map had very detailed markings for this place scribbled into it, as if it were hastily written. And, well, the rest of what happened is what we just did. It's almost like this place just appeared out of nowhere."

"That's very interesting..." said Jennifer. She jotted down more into her journal. "Hey, listen. I've got a lot of information to compile now. It's becoming nighttime soon. You should go out and explore a bit. After all, you just got here. You should enjoy the sights! Can you meet me here tomorrow morning at, say, 8:00?"

"Sounds-a good to me," said Mario. They left Jennifer's office and began to explore the town. There was a lot to see, and not a lot of time left to see it.

_A cloaked black figure seized Amori from Vallus' arms and disappeared into the darkness of the shadows. Before Vallus could do anything, the figure vanished. He searched everywhere for his beloved Amori, but didn't find a trace. This couldn't happen. Did the figure know how much she meant to the world? To him? Everything he was – his spirit, his passion, his identity – was invested in Amori. And after spending a happy eternity with her, in a split second she was gone. The feelings of despair were completely and utterly new, and they tore his heart to shreds._

_ She woke up in a dim, cold corridor. The only light came from lanterns hanging along tall pillars lining the walls. At the end of the hall was a shiny, black pedestal at which the cloaked figure stood. Black Lily flowers adorned the sides of the pedestal. Amori tried to speak, but nothing came out. Suddenly she was getting up and walking towards the figure. Without mental control of her body's movements, she came closer and closer. Her white bed dress glided smoothly over the glossy dark floor. Now she stood at the pedestal with the cloaked figure, facing towards him with fear in her eyes. She could see the dim contour of his face, but not enough to distinguish anything. Only his shallow blue eyes pierced through the darkness._


	3. Prologue Part 2 :: The Connection

_Prologue Part Two :: The Connection _

The sun was beginning to set in Tempora Town, and the orange haze of the sky was cast softly over the tops of all the buildings. Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toadsworth were walking about the town, trying to get a feel for it. Compared to Toad Town, it was amazing. After a while of exploring, they came to a slim, tall building. It had a clock on the front face, and the enormous seconds hand ticked by forcefully. A plaque with some writing on it was inset in the ground before the entrance.

_Tempora Hall_

_Oldest building in Tempora_

Upon entering, they came into a long corridor with large, tall columns lining the walls on both sides. The floor was dusty and cracked in several places. It was clear that it wasn't visited often, or at least not well taken care of. At the far of the room was another clock with a beautifully adorned pedestal before it. Their steps echoed throughout the room as they walked forward.

As they neared the pedestal, something strange seemed to be happening. "...I feel funny" said Princess Peach.

"What's wrong?" inquired Toadsworth. "I told you not to eat from the food stalls here!"

"No, not like that," she responded. "I feel like...I should stand behind the pedestal. It's like it's calling me." Toadsworth's eyes widened.

"Princess, I don't like the words you used to describe that. Maybe you shouldn't..." Peach began to walk towards the pedestal. As she got nearer, her body began to glow faintly and then even more so. Swirls of light danced around her body. They swirled faster and faster until they became white rings of light. She was glowing pure white now, with rays of light shooting into her from every direction. Her body began to fade, and the rest stood in awe until Mario snapped out of it.

"Peach!" he yelled, extending his arm out to grab her. But as he did so she vanished with a bright flash of light, his arm now occupying the space she once stood in.

"Princess? Princess? Where have you gone?" said Toadsworth. There was no answer but his concerned voice echoing throughout the corridor. The doors to the building slammed violently shut and the lights in the room all went out until the clock behind them flashed into life, glowing luminously. It seemed semi-transparent.

"Whoa..." said Mario.

"What do we do?" said Toadsworth, panicking. "What do we _do_?" Mario went over to the clock and examined it closer. He brought up his hand to touch it. The surface rippled around his finger as it went in farther and farther.

"Bro...maybe we should wait before we..." Mario was already moving into the surface before Luigi could finish. He wouldn't allow _another_ vacation to be cut short by losing the princess.

"Bro!" said Luigi, going into the clock after him. Now they were both gone, with only Toadsworth left alone in the long, dark corridor. He spoke to himself.

"Okay, I guess it's time to walk into the scary clock portal to save the princess now. Here I go..."

As Toadsworth entered the portal, the clock read 9:03 PM, and as soon as he was engulfed completely by the clock, the lights turned back on and everything returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened.

Mario emerged from the clock face into the same long corridor, with Luigi and Toadsworth following immediately behind him. The corridor was different though. The floor was glossy and smooth, and at the far end where the entrance used to be was another large clock, but it looked broken and in bad shape.

"...Princess?" said Toadsworth. There was no response.

"Princess Peach?" said Mario.

"How many princesses do you think are here?" said Luigi.

An unsuspected voice answered. "None. At least not here there are." A figure emerged from behind one of the pillars. He wore a dark blue cloak with black trim. His face couldn't be seen behind the hood of his cloak in addition to a long, white mustache that flowed downwards, ending inches from the ground. His two white eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Who are you?" said Mario.

"I am Sophos," he replied. "I am the guardian of Contineous, the world between worlds."

"Where is the princess?" said Toadsworth.

"She is not here. The person you seek is somewhere else entirely. The pedestal at which you stood at is a part of the gate between your world and another and can only be activated through the presence of one who is pure of heart – a rare quality that few possess."

"Where is she, then?" said Mario. For such a rare quality, Peach had a knack for getting into trouble with it.

"She is in the other world, no doubt. When one of pure heart passes through to the other side, the pathway between worlds opens briefly so that those who are not pure of heart can have a chance to prove their worth to continue through."

"How do we do that?" said Mario.

"Well, normally I would be the judge of your moral character and decide your passage but I'm afraid the entrance to the other world from here has been long since...destroyed." He gestured slowly towards the broken clock face at the far end of the room.

"What? No, we have to get to the princess _now!_" exclaimed Toadsworth. "She needs me!"

"When you are in this realm, you need not worry about the passage of time. Time does not pass here. I am deeply sorry for you, but despair not, for there is a way to repair the gate. Scattered throughout Tempora are four cogs, one for each region. These cogs are special, because they belong here in the gate seen before you. Long ago, about 10,000 years in fact, the gate between worlds was dismantled. It cannot be destroyed, so whoever decided to break the connection scattered the cogs to avoid the gate ever being reconstructed. Nobody knows exactly where the cogs are, but they are probably all guarded in some way."

"Well, I guess there's no doubt about it – let's go find those cogs!" said Mario.

"Wait!" exclaimed Sophos. "Before you go back to your world, you should take this." Sophos pulled a golden pocket watch out of his cloak and handed it to Mario. It was trimmed with crystal and shined like starlight. The hands didn't tick by, but he remembered that Sophos said time doesn't pass here. "This pocket watch is the key to finding the cogs. Right now, it's in its least powerful state. But, as you collect the cogs, it will grow in power and allow you to use its abilities. As of now, it only has one ability..." Everyone froze with anticipation.

"...the one ability it currently has is...the ability to tell time!" said Sophos. He let out a big laugh. "Oh, please excuse my humor. Being here in this timeless realm gets a little boring sometimes. But in all seriousness, you can return here anytime by using the pocket watch at the pedestal, but only at the pedestal. It will grant you passage into this realm without needing someone pure of heart to open the way. I wish you good luck! I will be here, forever and always, the guardian of the world between worlds."

They waved goodbye and returned back into the clock face to the normal world. As soon as they were back, Mario looked at the watch. The hands spun around rapidly for a few seconds, and then started ticking normally. It was 9:03 PM, the same time it was when they entered the portal. Their adventure was only starting, but before setting out to find the missing cogs they needed to find Jennifer.

"You went _WHERE?_" exclaimed Jennifer. They came back to her office immediately to tell her what had happened.

"The princess just _disappeared_ into thin air," said Toadsworth. He was starting to feel hopeless.

"And you went _into the clock_, into another realm, and met an old sage who told you he was the guardian of the world between worlds? You realize how insane this sounds, right?" Mario nodded, and was about to speak when Jennifer started talking again. "This is fantastic! I thought I was lucky before when I met all of you, but now I'm just amazed. You said you were going to travel all throughout Tempora to find the missing cogs, right? Please, take me with you!"

Mario thought for a moment. Did they really need another person in their party to worry about? _Oh who am I kidding_, he thought. _We need someone who knows something about this place._ "Absolutely," said Mario. "We could use someone who knows a lot about this place, and you are certainly knowledgeable it seems."

Jennifer blushed at the compliment. "Aww, thanks. I promise you won't regret it. I think we should wait until morning to set off, though. We can stock up on supplies before our journey then, but for now, I suggest you all get a good night's sleep."

They left the university once again and found an Inn to stay in for the night. Tomorrow morning marked the beginning of what would be a grand adventure.

* * *

_ "Greetings to you, my dearest Amori," said the cloaked figure. "How are you feeling on this fine evening?" She could say nothing. Her anger and frustration screamed out in her mind but still she could not speak. "Never mind the question, let us simply get on with this instead. Although, I suppose it would be rude of me to not tell you my name. I am Invidus, and I already know your name is Amori. You may remember me, or perhaps you will not." Invidus took a step closer to Amori. She could make out more details in his face now. She expected a scary, evil appearance, but that was not what she found. His skin was soft and gentle, and his eyes seemed tired and sad. "Do you remember me? The person whose heart – oh, never mind. It's too late now, the damage has already been done. You'll be stepping here, in front of the pedestal in just a moment. After you do so you'll be sent to the other world – the other, worthless world, that is. After you do so, I'll be free to enter Contineous, the connection between our perfect world and theirs. After I work my magic, there won't be any way for you to ever come back and see your Vallus again!" A sinister laugh escaped from his mouth, sending shivers down her spine. "Of course, if there were a way to be rid of you entirely, believe me I would have found it, so consider yourself lucky. You've caused me enough pain already, Amori. Enough!" His voice boomed throughout the corridor._

_ Against her own will, she walked in front of the pedestal and light began to swirl around her, growing faster and faster in speed. Shadows cast from the display danced all around the room as she began to fade away. Rays of light shot inwards towards her body, and she glowed pure white until vanishing completely from view. The clock behind the pedestal came to life and as Invidus walked through it, a thought ran through his troubled mind._

_If I can't have her, then everyone deserves to suffer._


	4. CH1 Part 1 :: Very Green Verion

**Author's Note: **Another chapter, here we go!

* * *

Chapter One Part One :: Monty Moles and Prairie Dayzees

Early in the morning before the sun had even begun to set, they awoke and prepared for their adventure. A quick trip to the Item Shop gained them a healthy variety of healing mushrooms and a few attack items like POW Blocks, Fire Flowers and even Ice Flowers. Jennifer was at the University, finishing up a few things herself before embarking on the journey. Mario, Luigi and Toadsworth made their way there after preparing.

"Looks like the start of yet another adventure bro," said Luigi. "You got to do the cool stuff on the last two, but it looks like this time, we're in it together." They laughed.

"You saved the Waffle Kingdom and rescued Princess Eclair, didn't you?"

"True, true," he responded. He just wanted Mario to bring it up. Toadsworth walked behind them, feeling a bit uneasy about the looming adventure.

"Excuse me gentlemen," said Toadsworth. "I can't help but think that I should sit this one out." They both stopped walking. "Now, now, I know what you're going to say, but we all know I'm not fit for jumping on Goombas, and kicking turtle shells. There's a lot to this whole story that seems to be missing. Maybe I could stay here in Tempora Town and do some research while you're away, what do you gentlemen think?" Mario looked at Luigi. They both nodded.

"Alright then, it's settled. You know how much the Princess means to me, boys. Promise me you'll return her safely?"

"We promise!" said Mario and Luigi. They continued walking to the University, and walked into Jennifer's office. She opened up the door. "Let's go!" exclaimed Jennifer, waltzing through the bros and out of the door. After walking down the streets of Tempora Town, they came to a big gate at the southwest corner of the town. Outside was the region known as Verion, a vast and spread out region consisting of grassy plains and scattered pockets of forests and lakes. The rolling green hills bobbed up and down like waves over the horizon, with the bright blue sky spanning across it. There was no path through the region, just wide open landscapes mostly untouched by civilization. After a while, they came up to a small village with cute, bright little houses of varying colors. There were flowers absolutely everywhere, covering most of the ground. Some houses even had flowers on the rooftops. Around the village walked flower-like creatures with red and orange petals. They all skipped around whimsically.

"What are those things?" asked Luigi.

"Those are Prairie Dayzees," said Jennifer. "They're mostly harmless, but don't let them sing to you or you might fall asleep."

"Good to know," said Mario. They walked into the village. One Dayzee came up to them.

"Hello, travelers. My name is Violet, and welcome to our village!" said Violet. Her name described the colors of her petals – bright blue and violet. Her voice was so smooth and soothing. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hello Violet," said Mario. "We're looking for a golden cog, do you know where we could find such a thing?"

"Oh, goodness me, I have no idea," she responded. "We don't have much here besides flowers...and well, more flowers...sorry." She frowned, and the colors in her petals dimmed a little bit.

"That's alright, Violet. Thanks for welcoming us into your village, anyways," said Jennifer.

"Oh, but there is another place you could look. It's called-" the ground suddenly began to shake and rumble. Off in the distance, they could spot several mounds of dirt bulging up out of the ground and moving towards them.

"IT'S THE MONTIES!" yelled Violet. "SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE!" Every Dayzee immediately began to run about in random directions with their arms up in the air. "Do what we were taught! Serpentine, serpentine, serpentine!" yelled a random Dayzee. The bulges of dirt were making their way into the village. Flowers of every variety became uprooted and started flying up into the air, and Monty Moles hopped up out of the mounds and onto the ground in the middle of the little village. There were three of them standing in the midst of the chaos. One in the middle, standing with his arms crossed and two at his sides. He was wearing a pitch black pair of sunglasses.

"Hey, little flowers!" said the Monty Mole in the middle. "Why are you running, we just want to _play_," he said sarcastically.

"Get out of our village!" yelled a Dayzee from behind one of the houses. Her voice was muffled and distant.

"And who is going to make us?" replied the Monty Mole. Mario stepped forwards and took a battle stance. "Who is this? He looks like a plumber..." said one of his cronies. The Monty Moles surrounded the three of them now. "Who cares who he is, let's beat 'em all up!"

One of the Monty Moles burrowed quickly into the ground, and a bulge of dirt shot towards them and knocked them all off their feet, sending them crashing into the ground.

"Jennifer, what can you tell us about these guys?" said Mario.

"These are Monty Moles. They can burrow underground and move quite fast, but above ground they're actually quite slow. I think if we can dodge their attacks, we can counterattack when they resurface."

The other two Monty Moles were burrowing down into the ground now, but this time they were ready. In two lines, the moles shot towards Mario and Luigi. They both jumped in unison and dodged the attack. The two moles resurfaced and they both jumped on their heads before they could regain their bearings. They ran off after a few more hits, leaving only their leader to fight.

"Hey, guys!" exclaimed the Monty Mole. "You call that a fight? Get back here and help me!" He burrowed into the ground again, and shot straight towards Luigi. A few feet before hitting, however, the Monty Mole suddenly stopped for a brief second, and then continued forwards. Luigi wasn't prepared for this, and landed back onto the ground when the bulge was underneath him, sending him falling awkwardly to the ground. The Monty Mole resurfaced, but Mario was ready, and jumped hard on his head.

"Ow!" exclaimed the Monty Mole. "What's with you guys, huh?"

"What's with you?" said Jennifer. "Why do you have to terrorize this peaceful village? Unless there's some other reason why you're here..."

"Well, um...there kind of is...but it's...never mind." The Monty Mole burrowed into the ground once again, and left the village in a hurry.

"What's his beef?" said Jennifer. The Dayzees emerged from all of their hiding places after a few moments. Violet came up to them.

"That was Maurice," said Violet. "Isn't he just...dreamy?" She sighed wistfully. They all were completely shocked and confused.

"We're talking about that punk mole, right?" said Jennifer.

"Oh, yes, that's the one," she replied. "Maurice comes into our village like this all the time. He thinks he can hide why he really comes here, but I know."

"Why?" asked Jennifer.

"Isn't it obvious? He likes me!" Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Whatever floats your boat, I suppose. Anyways, before this little mishap, you were saying something about a golden cog?"

"The Monty Moles might know about that, but I'm not entirely sure. We Dayzees don't go there much. There's been a long time feud between them and us. Nobody really knows how it started, but I don't care. I love Maurice, and someday I'll make him mine!"

"Well good luck with that and all, we'll be heading out and looking for the golden cog now," said Jennifer.

"Say hi to Maurice for me!" They made their way out of the village, following the trail of destruction created by the Monty Moles. Along the way there, they passed by a lone windmill at the top of a hill. The door was locked and there was no way in, so they simply continued onwards following the dirt trail. It wasn't long until they came upon an area completely devoid of grass. There were dirt mounds scattered everywhere, some so high they cast a shadow they could stand in and not see the sun.

"Hey, look who's back for a rematch!" said Maurice as he popped out from one of the mounds of dirt.

"We're not here for a rematch," said Mario. "We're looking for something important."

"Yeah? What?" he replied.

"A golden cog of some sort," said Mario. "Do you know where we could find something like that?"

"I might, for a price," he replied with a grin across his face. Mario sighed.

"Alright, what's your price?" Luigi asked.

"I want you to do something for me, but it's a secret." Maurice slid down the dirt mound towards them and spoke quietly. "I want you to tell Violet to meet me at the windmill between our villages...can you do that?"

Jennifer spoke up. "Why do you need us to talk to—"

"SHH!" said Maurice. "Nobody else can know, alright? If any of the guys around here knew how I felt about her, they'd make fun of me."

"Alright, alright," said Mario. "We'll tell her to meet you at the windmill. And then you'll tell us where the golden cog is, okay?"

"Deal," said Maurice. "I'll be there at sunset."

With that, they were already heading back to the Dayzee village, passing by the windmill once again. The sun was getting lower and lower into the sky. Mario pulled out the pocket watch given to him by Sophos. He almost forgot he had it. The hands ticked by effortlessly, and the face of the clock glowed faintly orange to represent the sunset. Precious time ticked by with every passing moment. They still had no idea where Peach was, or if she was even okay. Mario just hoped that Maurice wasn't leading them in the wrong direction.

* * *

_Amori appeared on the pedestal, but the room was different. It was dusty and cracked in several places. She left the room, knowing all too well what Invidus had done. She needed to do something now, or there might not be any hope left in the future. Outside of the corridor was absolutely nothing. It was the only building that stood in Tempora Town. She could see the massive mountain off in the distance, and that was about it. This entire world was completely and entirely new to her. It was nothing like the perfect world she lived in. This one seemed completely desolate, with nothing around showing any signs on life. She decided to head east in hopes of finding something. It would be quite the while before she would, but she had enough time to spare for many years._

_Peach was standing on the pedestal in front of the giant clock face. It was completely dark inside the room, with the only light escaping from a crack in the doorway at the entrance. She slowly made her way out of the corridor and into the bright, blinding light. The town in front of her was absolutely stunning. Everything shone bright and glowed in the bright, warm atmosphere. Suddenly, the brightness faded away as something grabbed her and took her back into the pitch black corridor. When she tried to yell for help, nothing came out._

_ "Silly princess...we can't let you out there...you'll be much safer in here with me where I can keep a close watch on you."_

_ "W-Who are you?" said Peach. She was surprised she could speak this time._

_ "__I'm glad you asked, your majesty. I am Invidus, the supreme ruler of your world and...soon...mine as well." He grinned. His teeth sparkled in the darkness._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So what do you guys think of the first part of the first chapter? How is the pace? Too slow, too fast? Just right?


	5. CH1 Part 2 :: A Big Fat Moe

**Author's Note: **Here is the next installment of chapter one, as promised! It turns out writers block is a real thing (big surprise there), and I experienced quite a bit of it. But I worked through it, and I think the story is starting to come together. I'm still working on the finer details of the co-story (the parts at the end of each section).

If you can, please leave a quick review or comment if you've read this far. I'd really appreciate it, even if it's just saying something you liked or didn't like.

Also, can you figure out what the "big" reference is in this chapter? Kudos to those who figure it out (shouldn't be _too _hard).

* * *

Chapter One Part Two :: A Big Fat Moe

Mario, Luigi and Jennifer strode into the Dayzee village. There were a few Dayzees with trowels cleaning up the mess caused by the Monty Moles earlier. They walked up to one of them.

"Hello, do you know where we could find Violet?" asked Mario.

"She lives in the violet house down the block," replied the Dayzee, and continued her hard work.

"That makes sense," said Jennifer. "Why didn't we think of that?" They walked down the path to her doorstep and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" said a muffled voice.

"It's us again," said Luigi. Violet opened the door.

"Oh, hello again friends. Did you find the golden cog you were searching for?"

"Not quite," said Mario. "But we found Maurice, he said for you to meet him at the windmill at suns—"

"He did? Oh, that's wonderful! I'll be out in just a minute after I beauty up a little...oh who cares, I'm going now!" She bolted out the door and between the three of them, skipping hastily down the path and out of the town as they watched.

"Something tells me that's unhealthy," said Jennifer. "Well, come on now, let's get to walking again..."

The blades on the windmill turned slowly and powerfully, similarly to the hands of the clock in Tempora Town. The sun was very low in the sky now, and the shadows stretched far across the landscape. Upon approaching the entrance to the windmill, they discovered that the lock was completely gone. The door creaked at a low pitch as it opened. Inside, the air was musty and dry. A wooden staircase made its way up and around the contour of the wall. They could hear muffled voices from high above them. As they made their way up the steps, the voices started to become more clear.

"...is there no way we can be together, Maurice?"

"If there is, I do not know it. You know how different our people are. Monty Moles just can't be with Prairie Dayzees, at least not in public. It would start a riot!"

"Maybe a riot is what should happen! You'd still be yourself even if you stopped being a Monty Mole. What's a Monty Mole anyway? It isn't a Dry Bones, a Piranha Plant or a Fuzzy is it? What is so bad about Monty Moles? If I could change myself, I would!"

"I trust your willingness to change, my love. But alas, you will always be a Dayzee, and I will always be a Monty Mole."

A step creaked as they walked onto it.

"Shh! Somebody is here!" They weren't really trying to be sneaky, so Mario spoke up.

"It's us," said Mario. They rounded the last bit of stairway to the top floor. Maurice and Violet were standing underneath the giant wheel in the ceiling, with the center column extending downwards into the floor. It rotated about ever so slowly, the wood creaking every few moments.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Maurice. "We thought you were, well, somebody from my village."

"Who?" said Jennifer. "You didn't mention anyone else earlier. Wait...who exactly are you talking about?" inquired Violet. She looked unhappy.

"It's not what you're thinking, Jennifer. It's...just...somebody who...if they came here...it would be...bad." She looked angry now, her petals curled slightly inwards.

"Who is she?" she demanded. It was unusual to hear such contempt in her soft voice. Maurice fumbled for words. He looked conflicted about whatever it was he was trying to tell her.

"Violet, I love you. It's not someone like you, it's—"

"Who is _she?"_

_ "_It's not a _she_, it's—"

"WHAT?"

"Violet, please let me explain. This is all a big misunderstanding!"

"No chance, bub. Consider this eloping session _OVER!_" She stormed down the stairway, somehow managing to creak on every step. Mario, Luigi and Maurice's mouths were all agape.

"I can't believe you'd do that to her," said Jennifer.

"I _didn't_ do that to her!" said Maurice. "The person I was trying to talk about is someone no Dayzee can know about."

"Can you tell us?" said Jennifer.

"Only if you promise never to tell anyone," said Maurice.

"We promise," said Jennifer. Mario and Luigi nodded.

"Okay...he's the leader of our clan. His name is Moe. He's practically eight feet tall and four feet wide and let me tell you, that's _huge_ for a Monty Mole. If he were to see me with Violet, he'd rip me to shreds, and anything else around him for that matter. Once he gets angry, there's just no stopping him."

"So that's why you couldn't tell her," said Jennifer. "I can't say it's a perfect reason, but I see why you'd hesitate."

"That's why nobody can ever know about us. If any word spread that I was going out with a Dayzee, there's no telling what could happen." A creak from below sounded, followed by several large, slow footsteps. They were getting louder and louder as whatever was coming up the stairs came closer. Looking back in horror, they saw a huge hairy beast of a Monty Mole. Looming high above them, it gave one angry look at Maurice.

"You in big trouble Maurice," said Moe. Its deep voice boomed throughout the room.

"M-Moe, it's not as bad as it seems—"

"You know rules. Your game over." Moe stomped over to Maurice, completely ignoring them.

"Mario, Luigi, we have to do something!" said Jennifer. Luigi jumped up high, but not enough to reach the beast's head.

"Ouch. Who hurt me?" said Moe as he turned his giant body around slowly. "Puny green plumber hurt me? Your game over now!" Mario followed suit and tried to jump higher to do some real damage, but to no avail. Now Moe was furious, and he started to stomp his giant feet. Dust and dirt fell from the rafters. Suddenly, the floorboards broke loose, sending them all tumbling down to ground level in a giant crash sending wood splintering in every direction. After a few moments of getting orientated, they saw a big bulge of dirt and wooden debris heading right towards them. Moe was burrowed underground and heading straight towards them at great speed. There was no way they could jump over him, but suddenly, Maurice burrowed into the ground and slammed into Moe underneath the surface, diverting his path just to the left of Mario, Luigi and Jennifer. Moe popped out of the ground behind them to regain his bearings.

"Quickly, let's get out of here!" yelled Jennifer. They rushed out of the door as quickly as possible outside. It was dark out now; the stars were just beginning to shine downwards from the skies. Mario pulled out the pocket watch given to him by Sophos. The clock face glowed a dark blue color, and the hands ticked by slowly. Mario just kept looking at the pocket watch – nothing else seemed to matter in that particular moment. The hands ticked by slower and slower, until they finally just stopped ticking. Surprised by this realization, he looked up. The blades of the windmill weren't turning. Did the wind stop? No, it didn't. Luigi and Jennifer stood beside him, and they weren't moving either. _Everything_ stopped. He didn't understand why this was happening, but took the opportunity to see what he could do to stop Moe from destroying them. He walked back inside the windmill to see the frozen image of Moe getting up from his hole and heading towards the door. Maurice was elsewhere. Mario decided he could set a quick trap for Moe – he didn't know how long this apparent miracle would last, and he wasn't going to risk taking his time. Moe was just too tall to get a good jump on. But that wasn't a problem. Mario jumped his way up onto one of the blades outside of the windmill that was frozen in the air, and held on to it tightly. He looked back at the pocketwatch. The hands started to tick, slowly at first, but they picked up speed. Everything around him came back to life again. He could hear the stomping of Moe's footsteps coming towards the entrance of the windmill. He emerged from the entrance, and Mario jumped down and landed squarely on the top of Moe's head, pushing down with all of his might.

"OOPH!" Moe fell to the ground with a giant thud, Mario landing gracefully between him and the others.

"Mario, you did it!" exclaimed Jennifer.

"Nice going, bro!" said Luigi. "Wait, how did you get up there so fast? You were right next to me just a few moments ago."

"I'll explain later," said Mario. Maurice came out from the windmill holding his head with his hand.

"So...dizzy..." said Maurice.

"Are you alright?" said Jennifer.

"I'll be alright, I just really hit Moe hard back then. I think...I'll...take a nap now..." He collapsed to the ground in fatigue.

"Maurice!" said a voice from off in the distance. It was Violet. "My Maurice, what happened?" She ran to his side. There was no answer. "Oh, my sweet Maurice. How could this happen? I'm sorry for my outburst, I just couldn't bear the thought of another taking you from me, but now look what I have done!" She sobbed exaggeratedly, and collapsed next to him. Jennifer spoke up.

"Violet, Maurice is just fine—"

"This is all my fault. If I had just listened to him, he would—"

"Violet! He's fine!"

"What is the point of living on anymore? Please, red plumber, end my game!"

"Whoa!" said Mario and took a step back.

"Let's not jump to conclusions now. I'm sure Maurice is fine, he just—"

"Yes, he was a fine gentleman, but now he is _dead!"_

"No, I mean he is alive. He just took a little blow to the head and fainted is all, that's it."

"...what?" she replied, and sniffled. Maurice started to get up from the ground.

"Oh, Maurice! You're not dead!" She hugged him, sending them both back to the ground. Jennifer just rolled her eyes at the whole exchange.

"Well there's a happy ending for you. Something seems familiar about all this, but I can't quite put my finger on it...oh well. Mario, how did you do that?" said Jennifer.

"The pocket watch Sophos gave me...it allowed me to stop time."

"What? No way, that's totally amazing! Can I try?" Mario took out the pocket watch, but it no longer glowed.

"It looks like it won't work anymore," said Mario. "We should bring it back to Sophos to see what's wrong with it."

"Good plan, bro, but we still need to find the missing cog," said Luigi. Maurice got up and came over to them.

"Here you go," said Maurice as he held out his paw. On it was the golden cog. It was only a few inches wide, and shimmered in the moonlight. Luigi accepted it and put it into his overall pocket.

"Thanks for defeating Moe for us," said Maurice. "I think it's about time our clan got a new leader – me!"

"But...Maurice," said Violet. "The people in both of our villages aren't just going to live together in harmony. Let's face it – not all Monty Moles and Prairie Dayzees get along together. We're two in a million. Let's run away together and explore the world!"

"You're welcome to come along with us if you want," said Mario.

"...but somebody has to lead the Monty Moles," said Maurice. "I can't just leave my friends behind. They'll be counting on me."

"Are you sure, Maurice? I...I love you, but I want to leave this place and explore the world. There's just...nothing for me here but you." Maurice stood for a moment in thought.

"Then I'll always be here for you when you come back." They hugged, and Violet went off with Mario, Luigi and Jennifer.

"I love you, babe!" said Maurice.

"I'll write often!" replied Violet.

"Well Violet," said Jennifer, "Congratulations! You're part of the team now."

They walked back towards the Dayzee village in the blackness of the night. With the first golden cog in hand, their adventure was underway and beginning to pick up speed. Crickets played in a chorus of chirps under the starry nighttime sky.

_Invidus sat on top a black throne in the middle of a tall, circular room. In each corner, the seasons were represented by different colors and designs in the floor and walls as well as many other things. In the spring corner was a grassy region with wavy grass, a tree and flowing water. In the summer, there was a large pool of water with a sandy beach and palm trees. In the fall were several red and orange trees. The leaves fell downwards to the ground perpetually, never running out. In the winter section, flakes of snow fluttered down into large drifts. All four regions surrounded the center of the room where Invidus sat in his throne. Its black and sleek look made it seem out of place. Way up above on the ceiling was another giant clock, but it didn't tell time. Its back was completely clear and let the sunlight shine in. The shadows cast by the single clock hand overlaid the floor of the room, indicating the season. The shadow was currently on the verge between fall and winter. There was another, smaller hand on the giant clock as well. It had marks on each quarter circle, where the 3, 6, 9 and 12 would be if it were a normal clock. Instead, there was 2500, 5000, 7500 and 10000, indicating the years passed. This hand was also on the verge. It was extremely close to the 10000 year mark, but not quite there._

_"Patience, my dear," said Invidus as he talked to himself. "Patience is a virtue I've never seemed to care for."_


	6. Interlude 1 Part 1 :: A Page Unfolds

**Author's Note:** This interlude just sort of happened...like...really fast. No writers block this time, and there's quite a lot more detail revealed about the story! Thanks for reading this far!

* * *

Interlude One Part One :: Another Page Unfolds

The quartet of adventurers stood on the pedestal before the gate to Contineous, the world between worlds. As Mario pulled out the pocket watch, the clock face glowed pure white, and the big clock in front of them glowed similarly and became liquid-like. Jennifer and Violet were more shocked than Mario and Luigi, as they hadn't yet seen it before. They walked boldly forward into the clock, and emerged once again into Contineous, where Sophos would be waiting for them.

"Ah, I see you've finally returned," said Sophos. He walked over to them. "Have you found the first golden cog?"

"We have," said Luigi as he pulled it out of his pocket. "It's right here."

"Great work, adventurers. Go ahead and place the first cog on the other gate." Luigi walked over to the other clock at the opposite end of the room. There were four pegs on which to place the cogs, each different sizes. He found the one that fit the cog he had and placed it firmly into position. Without hesitation, the cog started to spin clockwise.

"It worked!" said Luigi.

"Yes!" said Jennifer.

"Now that you've placed the first cog, the pocket watch I gave you should possess more power," said Sophos. Mario took it out of his pocket.

"Earlier, when we were in trouble, the pocket watch made time stand still," said Mario. "But I can't get it to do it anymore."

"Interesting," said Sophos. "That is quite peculiar. I didn't think there was enough power to perform that ability, but perhaps in your time of peril the watch gained just enough to use it. Well, regardless, it should have the ability to stop time anytime now."

"Really?" said Jennifer. "That's amazing! It seems a bit too amazing, actually. Couldn't we just stop time _all_ the time?"

"Absolutely not!" said Sophos, his voice echoed throughout the corridor. "Stopping time for too long is much too dangerous. The longer you stay in suspended time, the harder it becomes to get out. The pocket watch has to recharge its power in order to retain its abilities, and if you spend too long in stopped time, you won't have enough to return to normality."

"...and then what happens?" said Luigi.

"You end up in what is called Constus Temporus, or stopped time, forever."

"Is that what happened to you, Sophos?" said Jennifer.

"In a way, but I chose willingly to enter Constus Temporus here in Contineous to offer my sagely advice to those who want to pass between worlds, as well as to guard them. It can be a boring life, but very rewarding."

"How do we know when it's too late to return to normal time?" said Mario.

"When you enter Constus Temporus, the hands of the clock will represent the power remaining. You can think of it like a fuel gauge. When the time reads 6:00, you have half power. When the time reads 12:00, you will no longer be able to return and it will remain at 12:00 forever. I wish you the best of luck in finding the next golden cog, adventurers. The road ahead will become more difficult, but I have confidence that you can overcome any obstacle."

"Thank you, Sophos," said Mario as they entered back through the clock and into Tempora Town once again. The sun shone brightly into their eyes as they emerged from Tempora Hall and back into the bustling streets of the town.

"Oh, there you are, Mario and friends!" said Toadsworth from down the street. He hustled over to them. "Did you find the first missing cog?"

"Yep!" said Luigi.

"That's great news, and I see you've gained a following," said Toadsworth as he looked at Violet. She stood quietly in the back of the group.

"Hi, I'm Violet."

"Nice to meet you, Violet. Now, I have some important discoveries I'd like to share with you all," said Toadsworth. "In the time you were gone, I learned a lot more about this town and its history, and I think it is of utmost importance that you know about it before continuing on with finding the missing cogs!"

"Sure thing, Toadsworth. What have you got to tell us?" said Jennifer. She pulled out her notepad.

"Well, first things first, the barrier that you spoke of – the one that appeared 10,000 years ago – It's back again! Just last night, it appeared out of nowhere once again, just like before. I've made the deduction that the barrier only lasts for 10,000 years at a time, and for brief window right before the end of the cycle, it opens up. That window was during our arrival into Tempora, now isn't that quite the coincidence!"

"_Quite_ the coincidence," said Jennifer. "The odds of that happening are astronomically small. It's almost as if you were all meant to come here then. Fate, if you will."

"Possibly," said Toadsworth. "Or maybe something or someone else played a part. But regardless, we're not leaving Tempora anytime soon, so I sure hope that collecting the four missing cogs will open up that barrier or we won't be going home...or finding the princess."

"Did you find out anything about Peach?" said Mario.

"...sadly, I did not. I searched all throughout the town for answers but turned up nothing. I was hoping you'd come back with some more information. But alas, you must continue onwards to find the next missing cog. The first region you visited was the spring region, so I see it only to be fitting that you go to the summer region next."

"Oh, that sounds lovely!" said Jennifer. Everyone looked at her, wondering why she was so happy.

"Oh!" she said. "You all probably don't know about the Comfort Cruise in Aestasi, the summer region. It travels from the harbor to Insula, a big island out in the ocean. It's the most luxurious way for water travel in all of Tempora, and the only one at that. No hot air balloon could make it to that island, with the crazy weather out there on the seas."

"Cruise ship? Count me in!" said Luigi.

"Me as well!" said Toadsworth. "Who could resist a vacation within a vacation!"

"I guess it's settled then," said Jennifer. "We'll be taking a trip on the Comfort Cruise!" They all cheered in happiness. A little vacation in the midst of their perilous adventure certainly couldn't hurt, and besides, it was the only way to reach Insula safely.

"Where do we get tickets?" said Mario. Everyone sank down a little.

"Oh yeah..." sighed Jennifer. "The cruise isn't exactly cheap. But that shouldn't be a problem, right Mario? You must be rich from all of your adventures and whatnot, right?"

"You'd think that..." he replied, "but for some reason, I'm always broke at the start of every one."

"Well, maybe we can find the money some _other_ way," said Violet quietly. Everyone looked at her.

"Well?" said Jennifer. "Go ahead, what's your idea?"

"Well, I have something that's probably pretty valuable..." she replied as she pulled out a extraordinarily beautiful flower. It was white and had six curling petals sprawling out in each direction, with deep, red swirls decorating each one. It had a healthy glow, and looked amazing. "This is the most beautiful flower I've ever grown. It's extremely rare, so it must be worth something. I've held onto it for years and its never wilted."

"Are you sure you're willing to sell it?" said Jennifer. "We can find another way, if it really means something to you."

"No, it's okay," she replied. "I can part with it for a good cause."

"Okay. Thanks, Violet. I know exactly where we can go to sell this," said Jennifer. "There's a great fortune teller I know of called Merlia, and she might have a good use for it."

So they walked the streets of Tempora Town in search for Merlia, and came up to the dark purple tent she had set up. Stars and swirls decorated the fabric, and a bright light emanated from within the blackness of the entrance.

"Hello, guests," said Merlina. "What brings you to my fortune-telling tent?"

"It's me, Merlina," said Jennifer.

"Ah, my sweet Jennifer. Have you come to have your fortune retold? How's the search for love going, dear?"

"Shh!" said Jennifer. "That's...not what I'm here for this time. We've got something I think you might like to buy."

"Alright, but I must say it's a bit rude to try to sell something in the business place of another..." Violet pulled out the flower. "OH MY, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL," said Merlina. "Is that the Aeturnium Flower – the flower that never wilts?"

"Yes," said Violet. "I found it one day in my garden, all by its lonesome." She handed the flower to Merlina, who held it delicately in her hands.

"This is quite a rare flower," said Merlina. "I would pay a hefty price for it. How does 999 coins sound?"

"That sounds fine with me," said Jennifer. "It would be more than enough to buy us all tickets for the Comfort Cruise."

"Here you go, darling," said Merlina, handing her a bag of golden coins. She could barely lift it. Mario grabbed it and put it somewhere safe. "Thanks for your business! Are you sure you don't want your fortune told again, my Jenny?"

"Yes, I'm sure..." she blushed as they left the tent.

* * *

_Peach awoke atop a sleek, grey bed. She was in a sort of cell, but it was completely furnished and the bed was semi-comfortable. Everything was grey and linear and seemed completely out of place. She tried opening the door, and was surprised it wasn't locked. Outside of the room was the large circular room and the black throne sitting in the middle of it. Everything was so colorful and beautiful except for the throne. She walked around the perimeter of the room for a few minutes, exploring the little worlds that represented each season, until Invidus appeared._

_ "Hello, princess," he said. "I hope you slept well. You are indeed my prisoner, but I hope you appreciate the work I've done to make sure you're comfortable, now that I can keep you secure." He seemed so sincere in the way he spoke._

_ "Well, I won't be your prisoner for long," she replied indignantly. "Mario will come and save me and stop whatever it is you're planning on doing."_

_ "Ah ha ha ha, that thought amuses me. And I'm not planning anymore – it's already been done. The Aeturnum Clock has already begun anew, and the barrier is back in place. The time of transition is only a few weeks long and as soon as it is over, the gate between worlds will be destroyed beyond repair. Your supposed heroes stand no chance at getting here in time."_

_ "Then why am I here?" said Peach. "Why do you need me here if your evil plan is already finished?"_

_ "I misspoke my apologies. My plan is almost complete. I still have plans for you, my dear."_

_ "And what kind of plans are those?"_

_ "Ah ha ha ha! Believe it or not, princess, you'll play an important role in the separation of these worlds. Are you familiar with the story of the seasons?"_

_ "No..."_

_ "Ahem...allow me to tell you the story of the seasons then, my dear. The seasons are something that happens in your pathetic world. They don't happen here. Everything is perfect in my world, unlike yours, and all inhabitants here possess great magical powers. But there is something, or rather, was something, important that kept the seasons in balance in your world. There exist two lovers whose love was so great it could not be matched. Alone, they were of average magical ability, but together, their love penetrated into your world to create the seasons and allow life to exist there. Without the two lovers, your world would fall into an endless winter once again."_

_ "Why...why would you want to destroy such a beautiful thing?" said Peach._

_ "Please allow me to finish, princess...you see, the thing about love is that, when someone has so much love for another, it puts them into a great place of weakness. Without their returning embrace, it can completely and utterly DESTROY someone." His voice boomed throughout the room and he raised his hands up into the air, his black cloak draping downwards. "This only applies to us here in this perfect world, however. You mortals could not possibly be able to comprehend the fullness of their love, not even a little bit."_

_ "Then why am I here?" said Peach. "If you don't tell me, I'll—"_

_ "I'll tell you exactly why you're here," said Invidus. "You're here because you have something rare within you. A pureness of heart, that is. I, you see, have quite the opposite heart of yours, and I'm completely willing to admit it. It is broken. Completely to pieces." His voice became soft and lowered, but then it rose again. "And THAT is why you're here. I'll break your heart, and not in the way you're thinking, believe me. I will destroy your heart so that, together, I'll have enough power to destroy the gate between worlds once and for all! Ah ha ha ha!"_

_ "...you...monster..." said Peach quietly._

_ "__Tell that to the one I once loved," he replied. "She is the real monster."_

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**A bit of a longer chapter! And a longer backstory interlude as well! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm really excited to start writing the next one - it's going to be a bit of a parody/inspiration to the Excess Express chapter of Paper Mario : The Thousand Year Door. But for now, I hope you enjoyed the unfolding of plot points in the first between-chapter interlude!


	7. Interlude 1 Part 2 :: Air Aestasi

**Author's Note:** And here's the remainder of the interlude! There are lots of characters introduced in this chapter, and I'm really excited to start writing the next actual chapter. Prepare yourselves and pay attention in the reading, because the next chapter's theme is _Mystery Novel :D_

* * *

Interlude One Part Two :: Air Aestasi

"I can't believe we're going on a _cruise_," said Jennifer. "I'm buried waist deep in student loans for the university, so I could never afford something like this." Jennifer was going through her office in preparation for the cruise. She practically lived there. "Now, where is that sharpener..." she said as she opened up several drawers in succession, glancing briefly into each one. Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth and Violet just stood awkwardly in her office in anticipation. Even on a vacation, Jennifer couldn't pass up taking notes about everything. It was her passion, and she was good at it. "I found it!" she exclaimed, and put it in a small bag with the rest of the items she was bringing. "I'm all set to go now if you are." Everyone nodded. On the way out, they passed by the Lightning Flower exhibit again. Mario and Luigi eyed it admiringly.

"Don't even think about borrowing one of those power-ups," said Jennifer. "They're still in the development phase."

"Actually, they're in beta testing now," said a Goomba wearing a small pair of spectacles. "I'm Goomley by the way. We worked out the kinks and side effects. Mostly, at least. You _shouldn't_ die if you use it now."

"These two could be your beta testers," said Jennifer as she pointed to Mario and Luigi.

"Yeah, we're power-up pros!" said Luigi.

"Hmm, you two _do_ look like the power-up type...burly, muscular...and you've both got great staches," said the Goomba. "Alright, but I'll need you to sign these waivers. Oh, and these liability papers. And also the master contract." He handed them a thick stack of papers each. "Sign here, dot there, and we're good to go."

"Okey-dokey..." said Mario as he signed the papers.

"Glad to have you on the team," said Goomley. "I'll give you one Lightning Flower each, as they're quite powerful. All I ask is that after you've used them in your adventures, report back to me alright? Great, thanks."

It was now time for them to make their way to Aestasi, the summer region. Unlike Verion, Aestasi wasn't within walking distance, unless you had lots of time on your hands. So, they ventured over to the southeast quarter of Tempora Town to get to the hot air balloon depot. It was noon, and there were several hot air balloons floating high above them. Swirly designs, suns, leaves and stars decorated every balloon uniquely. The hot air balloon depot was a monstrosity of a building. It was an elongated building with a curved glass roof and openings of different sizes for the balloons to fly through. A large stone staircase trimmed the entire width of the building and led up to the three grand entrances. Inside, there were hundreds of different people of all different shapes, sizes and races. Goombas, koopas, toads, bob-ombs, boos, yoshis and so much more.

"There's a sign for Aestasi," said Jennifer. They followed the signs and eventually found themselves at the admissions gate for a hot air balloon ride.

"Hello and welcome to the one and only hot air balloon depot of Tempora," said the woman at the ticket counter, rather monotonously. "It'll be 20 coins per person, human or creature." Mario handed the woman 100 coins.

"Thank you. Please continue forward into the boarding zone." Ahead of them was a larger hot air balloon, or more accurately, a blimp. A yellow shining sun decorated the balloon to represent that they were going to Aestasi. They entered the blimp and sat down in their seats.

"Good afternoon passengers, this is your captain speaking," said the captain over the intercom. "The total flight time to Aestasi seaport is approximately four hours. We will be providing a complimentary mushroom and beverage service as soon as we reach proper elevation. Our meal today is a Spicy Mushroom and Tasty Tonic. Thank you for flying Air Aestasi and we hope you have a pleasant flying experience with us today."

"I've had the Spicy Mushroom," said a woman in front of them. "It's absolutely terrible; they should be ashamed of it being on their menu at all." The woman talking was a pink Boo wearing an intricate diamond necklace and a fancy purple hat.

"I beg to differ," said a Koopa sitting back and to the left of them, in a white lab coat with safety goggles around his neck. "The spiciness of the Spicy Mushroom perfectly balances with the sparkling citrus flavor of the Tasty Tonic."

"Oh, and I suppose you're a food connoisseur, right?" responded the Boo.

"No, I'm a scientist, but I know good food when I taste it!" responded the Koopa.

"Well I think—" The captain interrupted on the intercom.

"We'll now be lifting off and heading to Aestasi," said the captain.

"Excuse me," said a Yoshi with a slow, soothing voice from way in the back of the cabin. "But I happen to be an actual chef, and I have to say I agree with the Koopa in the lab coat on this."

"Ha!" exclaimed the Koopa, pointing at the pink Boo.

"Well, fine then," she responded. "But I want to see some paperwork on you later, mister so-called chef guy." The balloon began to ascend out of the station and up through the roof of the building and into the wide blue skies. There wasn't a cloud in sight as they headed southeast towards Aestasi. After several minutes had passed, the food service made its way down the aisle. When it got to the Boo, she rather rudely declined. The Koopa took the meal and grinned tauntingly at her. A Toad with brown spots wearing a fancy, dark grey shirt sitting across the aisle politely declined the service. He had a magnifying glass placed on his tray table.

"No thanks, I'm much too busy right now," he said. He was staring intently at a notepad full of scribbles and diagrams. "No, no, no. That can't be right..." he said to himself quietly and tapped his pencil a few times. "If the banana peel was found in the supply closet, the bellman _couldn't _have been the burglar...hmm, this is quite the conundrum." The toad was getting weird looks from a female Pianta with a sunhat sitting next to him. The Pianta shuffled a few inches away. "_Unless..._" said the Toad, "...unless the burglar _wanted_ the banana peel to be found in the supply closet, in which case...AH HA!" Several passengers in the nearby vicinity of the Toad jumped a little in surprise at the sudden outburst of volume. "My apologies fellow passengers," said the Toad. "Another case closed by The Great Toad Detective known as..." he paused. "...Chris T., or just Christopher for short." He laughed briefly at his own joke. The passengers went back to staring mindlessly at the back of their seats and out the windows.

"So, Chris T," said Jennifer.

"Christopher," corrected Christopher.

"Right, Christopher. What was the mystery you solved, anyways?"

"Ah, I can see the curiosity piquing from your eyes," said Christopher. "I've been working on this case for several weeks now, so I am greatly relieved to have closed it. You see, it was a battle of wits and I was determined to be the victor. The Great Toad Detective wasn't about to be fooled...but it wasn't easy...and...then the burglar...stolen briefcase...banana peel...and then I finally figured out who the culprit was. Miss? Excuse me? Young miss, you seem to have dozed off."

"Oh...sorry," said Jennifer, awoken from a brief boredom-induced slumber.

"Your loss," he replied. "It's a great story."

The rest of the flight was mostly uneventful. As they approached their destination, they could see the crescent-shaped coastline of Aestasi off the right side of the cabin. Sandy beaches packed full with umbrellas and tourists dotted border between land and sea. It was like another world within Tempora, complete with a luxurious coastline resort and various other amenities. But that wasn't where they were going. The blimp descended downwards towards the seaport, a smaller set of buildings compared to the hot air balloon depot in Tempora Town. The blimp touched down like a feather.

"Welcome to Aestasi Seaport," announced the captain. The cabin doors slid open and the passengers all left the blimp in a hurry.

"It's about time," said the pink Boo, waving her arm to fan her face. "It took four hours and _fifteen_ minutes to get here." They left the blimp and walked over to the Comfort Cruise cruise ship. It was rather large. There were four separate levels – the upper deck and lower deck, which were both exposed to open air, and two lower levels. Two big smokestacks ascended high into the air on the backside of the ship. A long wooden ramp was laid out from the lower deck to the ground level where passengers were about to begin boarding.

"It looks like we made it here just in time," said Toadsworth. "Looking back, we probably should have checked the schedule."

"Well, I'm glad we made it," said Luigi. They paid for their tickets, 100 coins each, and made their way up the thin, long ramp. The water far below them lapped against the edges of the seaport and the warm salty breeze of the ocean swept past their noses.

* * *

_Amori was stranded in the world she was sent to. Ever since Invidus had forced her through the portal, she had been walking and traveling east. It was 10,000 years before present time. In this barren land, she walked and walked. For many years she wandered, with only the loving memory of her Vallus to comfort her. She wondered what he must be thinking, or trying to do to save her, but in her wandering, she came across a dusty old pocketwatch, half buried in the dirt. She picked it up, and dusted it off. There was something familiar about the pocketwatch, she thought. It was the clock face – it was exactly the same as the clock face she saw when Invidus sent her here. Knowing a bit of magic, she attempted to renew the powers of the pocketwatch she had in her hands. The hands of the clock spun around and the pocketwatch shimmered. Something about this is important, thought Amori. She stared intently into it, and the hands began to tick slower and slower with every passing moment, until time itself stood still. The hands stopped at a seemingly random time – 11:55. Now they inched forwards, but time remained at a standstill. Amori just stood stunned at the revelation of what was happening, but by the time she realized what was happening, the time the clock read was 12:00._


	8. CH2 Part 1 :: Comfort Cruise Conumdrum

**Author's Note: **Finally, I release the next segment! I hope you enjoy what I've written. I tried harder to slow the pace down and not to rush so much.

* * *

Chapter Two Part One :: The Comfort Cruise Conundrum

_COMFORT CRUISE, DAY ONE_

After boarding the cruise ship and being escorted to their rooms, they could finally relax and enjoy their time. The ship had departed from the seaport and they were on their way to Insula Island. IT would take a few days to get there. Toadsworth had a room to himself, Jennifer and Violet shared a room, and Mario and Luigi had room 128, a room on the lowest floor with a bunk bed. The upper floors cost too many coins, so the lowest, least fancy rooms were all they could afford. A round porthole gave them an underwater view a ways down from the surface. A few small fishes swam by occasionally.

"Just like home, eh bro?" said Luigi as he climbed up to the top bunk.

"Just like home," said Mario. He lay down for a second to enjoy not having to think about anything, until someone knocked on the door. He got up to answer it. It was the Toad Detective, Chris T. from on the blimp.

"Hello again, strangers," said Christopher. "I saw you enter your room and couldn't help but notice we're neighbors on this delightful cruise."

"I'm Mario and this is my brother Luigi," said Mario.

"Nice to meet you two. If you ever feel like coming in for a chat, I'm in room 129."

"Thanks Chris," said Luigi.

"Christopher," corrected Christopher, and left the room.

"I'm going to take a nap, bro," said Luigi.

"Okay," responded Mario. He left the room to do a little bit of exploring. He started by first heading up to the top of the cruise ship, where most of the amenities were located. There was a large, sprawling tropical themed restaurant area open to the air and covered by a straw rooftop. People of all different varieties sat at tables eating delicious food. Mario sat down to order something and a Koopa waiter came to his table. He wore a fancy white shirt and carried a silver platter in one of his hands with a couple of fancy drinks resting on top.

"Hello sir, and welcome to the Comfort Food Cafe. My name is Koopler, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with a Tasty Tonic or perhaps a Super Soda?"

"I'll take a Super Soda," said Mario.

"And for the main dish?"

"The Lavish Lasagna, please."

"Yes sir, right away." Koopler began to leave, but stopped and returned to Mario. "Excuse me for asking, but you look like a plumber – we have a serious clog in one of our sinks, would you mind taking a look at it?" Mario sighed. Even on a vacation _within_ a vacation, he had to do work.

"Sure thing," he replied and followed Koopler through a swinging door into the kitchen. Inside, several chefs and other workers slaved away over meals and cleaned dishes. The air was hot and moist. He passed by the Yoshi chef that was on the blimp with them. He looked like he was working hard, so Mario didn't say anything.

"Here's the sink," said Koopler. Mario bent down under the sink and unscrewed the pipe. It was completely clogged. He unscrewed the other end of the pipe and pushed whatever was clogging it through the other side until it popped out and landed on the floor with a wet plop.

"Ew, what is that?" said Koopler.

"I think it's a potato," said Mario.

"Well, whatever it is, thanks for your help. If there's anything we can do to make your cruise more enjoyable, let us know."

"How about a discount?"

"Sorry, no discounts."

"Okay then," responded Mario. He left the kitchen and sat back down at his table. A few minutes later, his meal arrived and he chowed down, savoring every bite.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jennifer and Violet were indoors and sitting in the lobby area to a luxurious spa. They had just gotten out and were talking.

"It feels so great to just do_ nothing_," said Jennifer. "I can't remember the last time I took a day off."

"You should try it more often," said Violet. "Every day is a day off if you're doing something you love. For me, its gardening. My flower collection is the biggest in town." Violet didn't talk much, but when she did it was always nice to see how happy she was. She really was beautiful. _Maybe that's why Maurice was so crazy about her,_ thought Jennifer. Her mind went back to the conversation.

"I do love being a journalist," said Jennifer, "but it's tiring sometimes. I don't get out much, at least not until I met Mario and his friends."

"Me too," said Violet. There was a pause, but their conversation began again as they noticed the pink Boo from the blimp ride come out from the spa area.

"_She's_ on this cruise, too?" said Jennifer. "Ugh..." The Boo floated over to Jennifer and Violet, somehow managing to do it in a snobbish manner. Her diamond necklace glimmered.

"Good afternoon, ladies," said the Boo. "Weren't you on the blimp earlier today?"

"Yes, we were," said Jennifer, containing her distaste in meeting her.

"I thought it so," she replied. "My name is Bella," said Bella. "Do you know who I am?"

"...Bella?" responded Jennifer, confused by the question.

"No, you don't understand my question," said Bella. "I am a movie star – the _queen _of _beauty_ is my screen name, you see."

"We see," said Jennifer.

"Good," said Bella, flatly. "Because there can only be _one queen of beauty_, and it's me." Bella eyed Violet briefly, striking a sharp glance and then floated away, leaving Jennifer and Violet slightly confused and annoyed.

"What was she talking about?" said Violet. Jennifer knew what Bella was talking about.

"She's jealous of your looks," said Jennifer.

"Me, really?" She put her hand to her mouth in slight surprise.

"Yes, really. Seeing she's not the best thing in the entire world should be good for her," said Jennifer.

* * *

COMFORT CRUISE, EVENING ONE

The sun was setting over the endless ocean of water, causing the water on the edge of the horizon to look orange and glowing. The evening air was starting to cool down as the sun dipped below the horizon. Everyone but Mario and Toadsworth had returned to their rooms to wind down for the night, but they stayed up a bit longer out on top of the ship under the starry night sky and the soft sound of waves rippling way below them. They were mostly alone out on the deck, and were talking about their journey so far.

"I can't help but worry about the princess," said Toadsworth worriedly. Mario was used to his usual worriedness, but this was a bit different. Normally when things went worse, it was because of some plot against them by Bowser, or the princess running off somewhere she shouldn't have gone alone. But this time, she vanished right in front of their very eyes. Toadsworth couldn't help but feel responsible for the loss of Peach, and it certainly didn't help that they had no idea where she was.

"It'll be alright," said Mario. "We always end up saving her, and this time it's not just me."

"Oh, yes, I'm glad we have you Mario," said Toadsworth. He really meant it. "But I still can't help but be worried...where could she be?"

"Sophos said she's in the _other world_, wherever that is," replied Mario. He was beginning to get worried too. He took the pocket watch out of his pocket and looked at it in his hand. Sophos said he could use it to stop time itself, but only for a small amount of time. He thought about using it, but there was no reason to yet. _What other powers could this pocket watch possess, _thought Mario. Sophos said it hadn't reached its full potential yet, and with the collection of the cogs it would gain more abilities. _What could be more powerful than stopping time,_ he thought again. Toadsworth interrupted his thoughts by continuing the conversation.

"Well, I wholeheartedly believe you'll find the way, Mario. I'm going to go off to bed now and get some much needed rest. I plan on doing some very serious vacationing in the morning, but as soon as we're off this boat, it's back to adventuring mode."

"Good night, Toadsworth."

"Good night, Mario." Mario sat under the stars for a few brief moments. Suddenly, he noticed a figure move through the corner of his vision. It had some sort of bag slumped over its back as it darted into a nearby doorway. Mario immediately got up, quietly, and followed the figure. The doorway led immediately to a maintenance stairwell. Several floors downwards, the figure was making its way to the bottom. Mario tried as best as he could to avoid making a noise, but the metal stairs were slightly wet and he slipped a little bit, sending a metallic clank echoing throughout the stairwell. The figure stopped moving for a second, and then continued faster down the stairs and into another doorway. Shortly after, Mario arrived at the bottom of the stairwell. He tried opening the door, but whoever it was he was chasing had locked it. There was nothing he could do but return to the top, so he did. Upon opening up the door to the main deck, he was immediately confronted by Christopher, the Toad Detective.

"Oh my," said Christopher. "What brings you here this fine evening, neighbor?"

"I was..." Mario wasn't sure what to say. "...I was just enjoying the evening air." Christopher didn't seem fooled.

"Come on, now. Spit it out. You can't deceive a great detective, you know."

"I saw a mysterious figure make off with a sack of something, so I followed them," said Mario.

"Intriguing..." said Christopher. "This looks like a job for The Great Toad Detective! Tell me, Mario, can you describe this figure to me?" Mario had no idea what they looked like. They were too far away, and there just wasn't enough light to see any distinguishing features.

"I couldn't tell," said Mario.

"Then we'll have to search for more clues, I suppose. You'll be my apprentice, Mario. I know a good detective when I see one. You go ahead and rest up for the night. We'll begin our serious investigation in the wee hours of the morning." Mario did as Christopher said and went back to his room. It was getting very late, and Luigi was snoring loudly from the top bunk when he got back. He slid into the covers and drifted off to sleep after a few minutes. He dreamed of Princess Peach that night. In his dream, she was locked away in some sort of magical chamber, unable to escape. The room she was in was a catastrophe – a colossal clash of the seasons. A storm raged within the confines of the room, blending the bright and vibrant colors of the room into the center, seeping from the edges of the room and into the center where they combined to form an enlarging black mass. Peach hung tightly to a tree bending beneath the ripping winds of the vortex, until her grip loosened and she was sent tumbling into the darkness. At her final moment, the void sucked her up and the room went deafeningly silent. A figure emerged from the void, the blackness of the clouds draped around his body like a cape. The only hint of color lay in his pale, sorrow-ridden eyes.

* * *

Mario woke up from his nightmare in the middle of the night. Luigi was still sleeping soundly on the bunk above him. _We need to find the princess_, thought Mario. Time was passing slowly with every passing moment, but Peach was still yet to be found, and time was starting to run out.

* * *

No end-of-chapter interlude this time (sorry), but it was sort of replaces with Mario's dream anyways.


	9. CH2 Part 2 :: Detective Work

**Author's Note:** FINALLY. I've got the next chapter up! I don't want this fanfic to wither away into oblivion - I may not be able to churn out chapters as fast as I could during the Summer, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. The one thing that _really_ helps me to keep writing is your reviews. After more than a month of not getting reviews, I got one a little while ago, and that was enough for me to want to get back into writing again. So, thank you very much if you leave a review. Anyways - enjoy the chapter!

COMFORT CRUISE, DAY TWO

The early morning sun shone up through the calm, blue water for a moment as it passed through the horizon, casting an orange haze over the waves. The air was calm and cool out on the surface of the ship. Mario and Luigi were sleeping soundly in their cabin when suddenly, somebody knocked three times on the metal door.

A voice called out, muffled by the door, "Mario? Are you ready to begin our investigation?" It was Christopher. Mario slumped out of his bed and sauntered over towards the door, eyes drooping heavily. _I Guess he wasn't kidding about getting up early_, he thought as he opened the door. "Ah, good," said Christopher. "I see you're ready. I did some brief investigating after you left last night. I hope you don't mind. After speaking with some of the kitchen staff, they informed me that a sack of potatoes went missing yesterday. Do you know what this proves?" Mario looked tiredly at Christopher. He stopped talking and didn't know why. "I see you're still half-asleep, my apprentice. No worries, you'll perk up in a few minutes I'm sure. Do you remember what you said about the mysterious figure last night? He, well...she, er..._it_ was carrying something lumpy on its back, and I deduce that it must have been the missing stack of _potatoes!_" He emphasized the word 'potatoes' quite loudly and it echoed down the narrow corridor. "The investigation is afoot, my apprentice. Let us begin!" They started walking down the corridor and up the stairs. Upon reaching the floor of rooms, suddenly a blue viscous liquid suddenly started seeping out from one of the rooms to their left. "Heavens!" exclaimed Christopher. "What is going on here?" A plea answered his exclamation from within the room.

"Help!" yelled the voice. Mario went up to the door, walking through the mysterious, blue liquid. It squished about under his leather boots. He opened the metal door with a creak to see a giant mess of the blue goop splattered throughout the entire room. A Koopa in a white lab coat, although it covered nearly completely with the blue goop, lay frazzled against the bedframe.

"What in heaven's name is going on here?" asked Christopher.

"I-I was just working on my research, mixing together some chemicals and had the window open to vent out the fumes when all of a sudden, an old _boot_ flew into my window and knocked over a beaker into the vial I was using and, well, you can deduce the rest." He pointed to a moldy old boot splattered with the mystery liquid.

"Deduce, I shall," said Christopher. "The vial knocking over into the beaker almost certainly caused the explosivity of this slimy, blue catastrophe! Except...how could a shoe have flown into the room? There would be nowhere for it to be thrown from." The room was silent for a few moments.

"...yes, that's probably what happened," said the Koopa as he got up out the goop. "My name is Antony. I'm a research scientist at UT, but they're sending me out into the field on Insula to do my research there."

"What kind of research?" asked Christopher, suspiciously.

"I'd tell you, but it's confidential." Christopher frowned.

"Confidential or not, that makes you a prime subject," he replied sternly.

"Prime subject for _what?_" said Antony.

"I'll be taking a sample of this goop for further investigation, as _well_ as this boot. Good day, Antony." Christopher gave a stern glance as they left the room, leaving Antony behind in the goopy mess. "Clues are starting to pop up like daisies, Mario," said Christopher. "The missing sack of potatoes, and now this sudden goopy mess. The real question is who is behind these two, seemingly separate events? Shoes don't just go flying into windows, you know. Either someone _deliberately_ sabotaged Antony's experiment, or Antony _himself_ isn't telling us something...intriguing..." Mario nodded in agreement. "Perhaps that snobbish Boo we met on the Blimp could be responsible for this mishap – she did seem quite perturbed by Antony, here. What do you think, Mario? You haven't said a word since, well...last night, I just noticed." Mario nodded again, still trying to wake up.

"Ah, what a beautiful morning," said Jennifer calmly. She and Violet were out on the deck soaking up sunrays.

"Ab-sol-utely," replied Violet. She laid back and pondered for a few moments. "Hey, Jennifer, can Goombas get sunburnt?"

Jennifer paused for a moment. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a sunburnt Goomba...I guess not!"

"Interesting..." said Violet. "I wonder why that is?"

"Yeah, me too," replied Jennifer. She tried to think of something interesting to say, but nothing came to mind. "This is kind of boring...want to go do something else?"

"Let's go!" exclaimed Violet as she popped up out of her chair to leave. They decided to go down to the lower deck that went along the contour of the ship to look at the waves. Rows and rows of wooden lifeboats were stacked up the sides of the ship above them. They were each affixed to a sort of pulley system that allowed them to travel vertically along the side of the ship, so they could be loaded at any level.

"Hey, look at that," said Jennifer.

"Look at what?" replied Violet. "I can't tell what you're gesturing towards, you know, no hands and all." Jennifer did a combination of rolling her eyes and glaring at Violet. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that was a touchy subject..."

"The _lifeboats_," said Jennifer. "There's one missing way up there."

"That's odd. Maybe they're using it for something?"

"What would they need a lifeboat for? Something seems fishy around here. We'd better go find Mario and see what's up."

"Agreed. But first, can we head over to the Snack Bar? I'm practically starving here."

It was early evening now, and everyone met at the buffet hall for dinner. Luigi and Toadsworth were already sitting at the table, seemingly discussing something. Luigi seemed bored out of his mind, since his brother was off investigating with Christopher the entire day. They had gone in search of more clues but didn't find anything of interest. Christopher had returned to his room to go over the evidence and study the mysterious blue goop. Mario entered the room with Jennifer and Violet and sat down with Luigi and Toadsworth.

"Hey, bro," said Mario as he pulled a chair out from the table.

"Hi," said Luigi flatly.

"Sorry I was gone all day, that Christopher guy kept on thinking he found more clues." Luigi looked perplexed.

"Clues?" questioned Luigi.

"Oh, I guess I haven't told you yet. I saw a mysterious figure last night make off with a sack of potatoes from the kitchen," said Mario. Luigi looked even more perplexed now.

"Potatoes?"

"Yep. Christopher has been taking me along everywhere in search of more clues."

"Even on a vacation, bro, you're hard at work doing _something_." Mario nodded. He always felt like if there was a problem, it was his job to fix it. "I hope you've gotten to relax at least a _little_ bit." The conversation ended. The others were talking about other things of no particular interest. As nice as this cruise was, everybody seemed to be looking forward to getting to Insula to find the next golden cog.

"Hey, there's Bella," said Violet, pointing a couple of tables over. She wore her sparkling diamond necklace and a fancy purple hat. The way her necklace managed to stay on her body was perplexing, since Boos don't have any sort of shoulder to speak of. Everyone around her seemed extremely rich and snobbish. The Yoshi Chef came out from the kitchen with a pen and notepad to take their orders.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Oliver McCormick and I'll be your server and chef tonight. What can I prepare for you from our fine assortment of meals?" said Oliver.

"I'll have the Shroom Roast," said Bella, "and make sure it's golden brown. If there are _any_ dark brown spots, I'll send it back."

"Got it, no brown spots," said Oliver, looking down and scribbling in his notepad. He looked up at who had just given him the order. "Excuse me, are you Bella? The Queen of Beauty?"

"Yes I am," said Bella, batting her eyelashes.

"Can I get your autograph? I've been a fan since your very first show."

"Sure, thing. Anything for my adoring fans." Oliver ripped out a sheet from his notepad and handed the pen and paper to Bella, who signed it quickly and efficiently, obviously used to doing it.

"Thank you so much, I _really_ appreciate it," replied Oliver, smiling. He took the rest of everyone's orders at the table and returned back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, Oliver made his way to Mario's table to take all of their orders. Mario marveled at how he managed to take orders from every table, _and_ cook them as well. It really seemed like he was an expert at what he did. Oliver returned once again to the kitchen, presumably to start making their orders and to finish another table's, and came into the dining area once again with Bella's Shroom Roast. He placed it on the table, bowing in front of her as he did so. After giving everyone at their table their meals, he returned back to the kitchen, and the door swung open as he entered it. Mario caught a glimpse of the inside. He saw Antony, the Koopa scientist for a brief moment before the door closed completely. _Why is he in the kitchen, _thought Mario. Simultaneously, Christopher walked by their table and over to Mario's.

"Mario, I've made some interesting discoveries. Could we talk for a minute in private?" asked Christopher.

"Sure thing," said Mario, and they walked out the back door of the buffet hall and out into the cool, brisk air out on the deck.

"I've compiled a list of subjects, tell me what you think," said Christopher, pulling out a notebook with scribbles written in it. "Subject one, Antony. Koopa Scientist. Suspicious behavior regarding mystery chemical experiment, refused to supply details on said experiment." He adjusted his glasses and turned to the next page. "Subject two, Bella. Movie Star. General hostility towards kitchen staff, possible reason for stealing potato sack from the kitchen. Also has demonstrated hostility towards Antony before, possible reason for the boot-throwing into his room early this morning. Subject Three, Violet. Dayzee—"

"What?" said Mario. "Violet? What has she ever done?"

"That is precisely why she is a subject. In my experience, the perpetrator is often the one you never expect."

"She's not the perpetrator," said Mario sternly.

"I'm not saying she is, but I cannot rule out the possibility. Sometimes a great detective has a hunch that he simply cannot ignore."

"Well, I don't think that—" Mario decided to put it behind them. She wasn't the perpetrator, so nothing would come of it. "Okay," said Mario. "Well, Jennifer and Violet mentioned to me earlier that a lifeboat has gone missing earlier this afternoon."

"Intriguing..." replied Christopher. "...ah HA! Mario, tell me, where exactly was this lifeboat missing from?" Mario thought for a moment, thinking back to their conversation.

"...right by Antony's room," replied Mario.

"Just as I suspected!" exclaimed Christopher. "Well, that certainly debunks the whole boomerang boot theory I had. Everything is starting to come together, Mario. I feel we're getting precariously close to solving this mystery, but we still need to figure out one more thing."

"What's that?"

A shriek came from within the restaurant. "My necklace! Where is my necklace?"

"What our perpetrator is after."

**Author's** **Note**: Thanks for reading! If you're enjoying the story so far, please leave a review with your thoughts. I really appreciate it!

(Also, sorry for no Amori/Peach interlude...again. I actually really wanted to write one, but I don't feel like it was the right time to do one. Expect a _big_ one at the end of the chapter :)


	10. CH2 Part 3 :: Perilous Plot Twists

Chapter Two Part Three :: Perilous Plot Twists

COMFORT CRUISE, NIGHT TWO

Mario and Christopher ran inside immediately. Bella was at her table, searching frantically for her diamond necklace. Everyone around her seemed to be completely confused and baffled. Nobody had even seen someone take her necklace.

"What happened?" said Mario upon reaching their table.

"I don't know," said Jennifer. "One moment everything was fine, and the next, Bella was freaking out over her _precious necklace_." A handful of Toad security guards came into the restaurant.

"Alright, nobody leaves the room until we figure out what happened here," said one of the larger guards. "We're on lockdown."

"Lockdown?" said Violet, nervously.

"Dear heavens," said Toadsworth. "This is not good. Not good at all."

"Come, Mario and Luigi," said Christopher. "Let's make our way to the kitchen. I've got a feeling our perpetrator isn't going to stick around the scene of the crime."

"I'm coming too," said Jennifer, leaving Toadsworth and Violet at the table. They entered the kitchen through the swinging door, and what they saw was not what they were expecting. A trail of blue footprints began where they stood. The trail led them to a stairwell, and they went down it. It went quite the ways downwards, the air getting warmer and warmer as they descended. The trail of blue footprints faded away as the heat increased.

"It's getting _really_ hot in here," said Jennifer. "...I don't think this is normal." Upon reaching the bottom, they came into a large, hot room with a boiler in the center. It was very dark in the room, apart from the light coming from the boiler. There was an exhaust pipe for the steam to escape coming out from the top, but no steam was escaping.

"I'm beginning to suspect that we may be in danger," said Christopher, pointing towards the exhaust pipe. It was gradually expanding as a bulge in the center.

"It's gonna explode!" yelled Jennifer. They ran back towards the stairwell door and started their way up the stairs. The bulge was huge now. Suddenly, a great crash boomed throughout the boiler room, echoing intensely up the stairwell and knocking them off their feet. Christopher kept on running up the stairs, but Mario, Luigi and Jennifer stopped and went back down to see what had happened. They made their way back into the boiler room. A giant, gaping hole was in the wall where the boiler once was. Now it was a hot, metal heap of bent metal with steam emanating from it. An obliterated potato was splattered about the ceiling above the exhaust pipe.

"This explains why the perpetrator stole those potatoes," said Christopher. "They needed something to clog the exhaust pipe to make their escape. That still doesn't explain the blue goop, though." The hole in the wall led to another room with a lifeboat in a small pool filled with water. At the other end was an opening straight to the ocean.

"This looks like where they release the boats from," said Jennifer. "Hey...I think that's the lifeboat me and Violet saw was missing earlier!" Suddenly, the lifeboat began floating towards the opening to the ocean at the opposite end of the room. Small waves lapped against the side, seemingly by themselves.

"How is that boat moving?" said Luigi. A faint, barely visible outline of a figure could be seen in the boat. It had a blueish tinge to it.

"I think I know," said Mario, rummaging through his pockets. He pulled out the Lightning Flower they had been given from Goomley several days ago. "I think it's time for some field testing."

Mario used the Lightning Flower and felt a strange, tickling sensation throughout his entire body. Tiny pricks of static popped up around the surface of his skin, forming arcs to the ground from every direction. The light from the arcs lit up the room with their flashes, causing a luminous display from the reflections in the water. The outline of the figure in the lifeboat could be seen more clearly now. Mario thrust his hand outward to send a lightning charge towards the water surrounding the lifeboat. A thunderous crash boomed throughout the room and spread out in every direction in the water surrounding the boat, splintering the wood and sending the figure into the water. Blue liquid suddenly became visible as it came into contact with the cold, salty water.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Christopher. "Antony is the perpetrator!" They seized him from the water and brought him up back onto the cold, metal floor. He was splotched with the same blue goop as before. "I knew it was you from the moment I saw you. The story you gave us about the boot flying into your room was too far-fetched to be true. You staged the _accident_ to ease suspicion and run my investigation off course, but it backfired. You can't fool The Great Toad Detective. This case," he paused for dramatic effect, "is closed." Christopher pulled a pair of handcuffs from his detective bag to everyone's surprise and cuffed Antony's wrists.

"But how did he steal Bella's necklace without anyone noticing?" asked Mario.

"I didn't steal it!" said Antony. Everyone ignored him.

"I'm sure there's a very complicated answer, but I'll have to go over my notes, and—"

"I think I know the answer to that question," said Jennifer. "The blue goop on his body allows him to be invisible, but only at much higher temperatures. As soon as his body cools down, the goop becomes blue again. It's why we could suddenly see him when he plunged into the water."

"I was...just about to say that," said Christopher, embarrassed. "Now then. Hand over the necklace, you've been caught."

"I don't have the necklace!" he said again. "I told you I didn't steal it, there's someone else—"

"Don't ruin the surprise..." said a mysterious voice. A cloud of darkness came into existence over the water. The cloud swirled around and gradually formed into a cape, surrounding a slender, dark figure. His eyes were the only hint of brightness that could be seen.

"Who are you?" said Jennifer, angrily. The figure ignored her and adjusted his gaze towards Mario.

"Ah, you must be the Mario I've been told of," said the figure. "Please, allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Invidus, soon-to-be ruler of your world and mine."

"What have you done with the necklace?" said Christopher.

"Necklace? I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Shut up, I'm trying to talk with Mario, here." He raised his arm, the cloak rising upwards and a force field appeared around Christopher, silencing him.

"This isn't the person I was talking about..." said Antony, nervously.

"Enough!" boomed Invidus. "This petty talk ends here. After hearing so much about how this _Mario_ person from that pretentious _princess_ and how he was going to vanquish me and finally seeing him, I think I'll almost feel bad for ending his life..." he said sarcastically.

"The princess!" gasped Jennifer.

"What have you done with Princess Peach?" demanded Mario.

"That is for me to know, and you to ponder worthlessly as I finish you." He rose up both arms, causing his cape to swirl around him and form back into a dark, grey cloud. Sparks of lightning shot out in all directions, hitting the surface of the water and sending it splashing up at them. A lightning bolt shot out towards the group. They jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding it. Mario and Luigi went into battle stances to face Invidus, who was still hovering over the water. Luigi jumped towards him, but Invidus dodged his attack effortlessly, gliding over a few feet sending Luigi splashing into the water.

"Hah!" said Invidus. "You can't even touch me, this is going to be even easier than I thought." He repeated the same attack as before, this time directed only at Mario. He rolled out of the way, only to recover to a whole barrage of lightning bolts sent straight towards him. _This isn't working_, he thought. _I can't get to him fast enough...wait, that's it! _Mario pulled out the pocketwatch as quickly as possible, looking into it just as he did before. The hands ticked by, slower and slower, until they stopped ticking. He remembered what Sophos said, about not staying in Constus Temporas, or frozen time, for too long. _I have to do this quickly_, he thought. Invidus was motionless, frozen in the air with an evil look in his eyes directed at where Mario was before he used the pocketwatch. The hands were at 5:00 – nearly half of the power was gone. At 12:00 he would be stuck forever in Constus Temporus. He jumped up towards Invidus and latched onto his cape of darkness. He almost didn't make it. The cape barely moved as he grabbed it, rippling in slow motion. Invidus began to descend downwards, towards the water with Mario hanging onto his cape. The clock read 8:00. The water was still a couple of feet away. The clock was at 10:00. A few more inches. The clock was at 11:45. They were in the water, and Mario stopped Constus Temporas.

"Luigi!" yelled Mario at the top of his lungs, "Use the lightning flower NOW!" Luigi seemed awestruck. Suddenly, Mario was in the water with Invidus. He instinctively pulled out his lightning flower and used it on the water near Mario and Invidus. Mario was already looking back at the pocket watch and re-entered Constus Temporas. The clock read only 11:40 – he needed to get out of the water before it reached 12:00. Mario put his hands on top of Invidus, and pushed with all of his might, jumping out of the water for a brief second. He glanced at the pocketwatch again, exiting Constus Temporus. The lightning from Luigi's hand shot forth towards Invidus. His eyes widened, and he was struck by the bolt of lightning in the chest. He let out a thunderous cry of pain, Mario splashing into the water moments after. Invidus rose out of the water. _It didn't work_, thought Mario.

"Don't...think..._cough_...that I won't be back to finish you," said Invidus. His cape swirled around once again, morphing into a dark, ominous cloud and swirling away into nothingness. They had won the battle.

"Mario!" exclaimed Jennifer. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he responded as he got out of the water. "Good job bro," he said to Luigi.

"No problem-o!" he said with a smile. Christopher was huddled against the back side of the room, with Antony.

"W-w-what was _that?_" asked Christopher.

"I think he was a being from...the other world," said Jennifer.

"Could he be the one who...destroyed the gate?" said Luigi.

"We can't be sure, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him again."

"Well, _whoever that was_, I would like to know where the missing diamond necklace is if Antony doesn't have it!"

"I was trying to tell you – the person who stole the diamond necklace is the chef, Oliver McCormick!" Everyone gasped.

"Well, where is he then? And why were you coated in the invisible goop, about to escape on a lifeboat? It sounds to me like you're the perpetrator," said Christopher, crossing his arms.

"I know, but..." he paused, "...I had to. He told me to pose as him in the lifeboat and distract anybody who went after him, or he'd toss me overboard the first chance he got."

"Then where is he now?"

"I don't know."

The group made their way back up the stairs and onto the main deck to come across several security guards around a mess of blue goop on the deck. They pushed their way through the surrounding crowd into the middle to see none other than Oliver McCormick cuffed around the wrists, covered in the blue goop. One of the guards had the diamond necklace. Oliver was muttering to himself.

"Stupid flower, I would have gotten away if she hadn't of-"

"Give it a rest, bub," said one of the guards. "Crime doesn't pay."

"That's right, that'll teach you to mess with the Queen of Beauty," said Bella, who had her necklace returned to her by the guard. Toadsworth and Violet joined the group. Violet had splotches of the blue goop all over her.

"What happened to you?" said Jennifer.

"Well, me and Toadsworth were in the restaurant when you left. I had to use the restroom, so a guard let me go. When I went in, I saw the window open by itself and blue footprints appear on the wall below it. At that point, instinct took over, and I sung a lullaby. The thief fell to the floor with a thud and I told the guards."

"Wow, way to go, Violet!" said Jennifer. "You're the hero!" Mario and Luigi eyed each other at the irony of the statement. Meanwhile, the guards were talking to each other and going over Oliver's background.

"So you're telling me his papers aren't official?" said one of the guards.

"Indeed, sir. He's not even a chef. His last real job was a dishwasher in a junky cafe. Quite the elaborate scheme, I'd say."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Bella. Everyone seemed surprised. "Ever since the argument on the blimp about the Spicy Mushroom!" Nobody paid much attention to her.

"And I would have gotten away with it," said Oliver, "if it weren't for that meddlesome flower..." The guards dragged Oliver off, the crowd of bystanders following them trying to snap pictures and get a view of the criminal.

"Well, I suppose that's that," said Christopher. "Another mystery has been solved by The Great Toad Detective! You've got great potential, Mario. Maybe one day you'll be as good at solving problems as me, but until that day, I wish you good luck." Mario simply nodded.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is longer than I expected it to be! Looks like it'll end up being a four-parter (I still need to decide on who will be the next partner - there are lots of choices I'm still thinking about). I think I'm getting better at embellishing details and taking things at a slower pace.


End file.
